Eight
917 Words
The halls of the Crystal Moon Pack house were quiet, filled with the soft hum of the cooling night. After a long day of endless decorations, running errands, and managing the overwhelming crowd, Abigail was exhausted. The party had been beautiful—fairy lights twinkled like stars above the grand garden, music echoed in her ears, and the laughter of powerful wolves still lingered faintly in her thoughts.
But she hadn’t eaten much. Between her nerves about the party and the strange fluttering in her chest every time Rohan passed by, her appetite had gone out the window.
Now, past midnight, when everyone had retired, she padded barefoot across the quiet corridors in her soft pajamas, heading toward the kitchen for a late-night treat. Her favorite cookies were still hidden in the cupboard, and maybe, just maybe, there was a glass of mango juice left in the fridge. She smiled at the thought.
She had no idea someone else was awake—someone whose entire world was about to shift.
⸻
Rohan had tossed and turned in bed for almost an hour. His body was tired, but Dean was anything but calm.
“She’s close,” Dean growled in his head.
Rohan sat up, rubbing his face. “Close? Who?”
“Her. Our mate. I can smell her again, and it’s driving me insane.”
Rohan got up and threw a shirt over his torso, trying to calm the storm brewing inside him. The scent… yes, he could smell it now. Vanilla. Sweet orange. And something uniquely hers—intoxicating, like forest air after rain and warm cinnamon. It lured him through the dim hallway like a lifeline.
He followed it.
It led to the kitchen.
He paused at the doorway, and there she was.
An omega.
A small girl, no older than him, sat on the marble counter, swinging her legs gently as she munched on a cookie. Her eyes sparkled with satisfaction, cheeks puffed slightly as she chewed, and there was a crumb on the corner of her lip. Her soft hair was tied in a messy bun, and her pale blue pajamas were a little too big on her frame, but she looked… perfect.
Rohan’s heart thudded loudly in his chest.
“It’s her,” Dean breathed. “She’s our mate.”
Rohan stood frozen.
“No,” he muttered, almost too quietly. “That can’t be right. She’s… she’s an omega.”
“So what?” Dean snapped. “She’s ours. Look at her. She’s beautiful. She smells like home.”
He didn’t realize he was holding his breath until she turned, still chewing, and caught sight of him.
Her eyes widened. “Alpha Rohan,” she thought, hopping off the counter quickly. She gave him a quick bow, avoiding eye contact. “Good evening,” she added silently with her hands, though he didn’t know sign language well enough to understand.
She looked flustered and shy, her cheeks pink from embarrassment at being caught midnight-snacking. She quickly rinsed her plate and glass in the sink, wiped her fingers on a towel, and began to walk past him.
He still hadn’t moved.
Dean practically howled.
“SAY SOMETHING, STUPID!”
But all Rohan could do was stare.
She was so close now. Her scent wrapped around him like a blanket—comforting, warm, and addicting. She walked right past him, brushing the edge of his arm with hers, he felt sparks ripping through him, it felt so good being this close to her and then—
Nothing.
No recognition in her eyes. No jolt. No reaction.
Dean whimpered.
“She doesn’t know. She can’t feel the bond yet.”
Rohan turned slowly, watching as she disappeared down the corridor.
He didn’t even know her name. She was just… a girl in the background. A quiet, mute omega who did her duties and kept her head down.
But now?
She was his mate.
⸻
Rohan stood in the kitchen for a long time after she left, still smelling her scent in the air. Dean wouldn’t shut up.
“She’s ours. We have to protect her. I don’t care if she’s an omega and mute. She’s everything.”
Rohan sighed. “What do we do now?”
“Find out when her birthday is. She’ll feel the bond once she shifts.”
That gave him a little hope. If she didn’t feel it now, it was only because her wolf hadn’t awakened. Maybe once she shifted, she’d know. She’d feel the pull. She’d look at him the way he was looking at her now.
The realization hit him like a wave.
He was in love with someone who didn’t even know she belonged to him.
⸻
Meanwhile, back in her small room tucked away on the third floor, Abigail collapsed onto her bed with a soft sigh. Her wolf, Iris, stirred sleepily in her head.
“That cookie was divine,” Iris mumbled. “We needed that.”
Abigail giggled silently.
But as she turned off the small lamp beside her bed, a strange warmth filled her chest. She thought of Rohan’s face as he stood by the kitchen door—confused, intense, like he was seeing her for the first time.
She shook her head and tucked herself in tighter.
No way.
She was just an omega. Someone like Rohan would never…
Still, she fell asleep with a small smile on her face, unaware that her scent had just changed someone’s entire world.
- Writer
